London -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- If keeping track of friends was the first wave of social media , the next may be all about hooking up with strangers .

Apps designed to connect like-minded people , both online and in the real world , are being promoted as potentially capable of generating the kinds of billions Facebook may or may not be worth .

But to achieve this , tech companies must encourage users to make a leap into an unknown world and throw private information into a void .

`` If we get this right , I can not think of a bigger thing to be working on right now , '' said Paul Davison , CEO of Highlight , one of the most buzzed-about of such apps to emerge this year . `` We can take billions and billions of dollars . ''

Like other so-called `` social discovery '' apps , Highlight works by allowing a small online cloud of personal information to follow a user wherever their cellphone goes . Whenever two users pass in the street or walk into the same venue , Highlight compares their data and alerts them to things they share in common , such as friends , music or favorite TV shows .

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Davison , 32 , sees this as a powerful way to solve an imperfect social world in which many people try but fail to find the right friends , partners or employees .

`` There is serendipity everywhere , '' he told CNN this week at Le Web London , a tech conference that wraps up Wednesday . The event brings together some of the biggest names in social media innovation and its agenda showcases a number of data services which , like Highlight , attempt to steer us away from the vagaries of chance .

`` But sometimes it just needs more engineering , '' he added .

Davison is clearly not alone in thinking this . Since its launch in January , Highlight has received positive reviews from tech-industry journalists and was one of the most heavily hyped apps this spring at SXSW Interactive , the tech conference in Austin , Texas . A similar app , Glancee , was snapped up by Facebook in May .

Davison wo n't disclose how many people have signed up for Highlight to date , but our tests in London this week revealed a relatively thin pool of users . -LRB- For context , another fledgling rival , Banjo , hit 1 million users in April . -RRB- He appears to be some way off from the fabled `` critical mass '' at which a network becomes an attractive user destination .

To get there , he must first convince people of the value of sharing -- a task he acknowledges as tricky .

`` People freak out , they say it 's creepy , '' he said . `` And if they do n't want to share , then that 's fine , they do n't have to . But the social benefits to this far outweigh any cost to privacy . ''

Davison , who is currently expanding Highlight 's two-man operation with half a dozen new hires , said he believes users will be won over by the ability to validate peoples ' identities via Facebook or other existing social media platforms , and by the limited space in which the data is broadcast .

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`` We connect people over a 150-meter radius . There 's something about a short sense of space that creates trust , '' he said . `` Trust is critical . We think about it all the time and we want to be a simple product that people love . We do n't want to be too spammy , too aggressive or anything like that . ''

Davison said he is not entirely sure how he will monetize his creation . Still , he is confident that it has lucrative potential -- provided it can avoid being pigeonholed as a dating app or conference-networking tool .

`` Both those are big markets , but if you focus on them you end up with a very vertical growth plan , '' Davison said . `` We want to go beyond that . We want something that everyone will use everywhere . ''

While some may doubt Highlight 's ability to persuade a mass-market audience to share with strangers , Davison 's goals are n't without precedent -- largely thanks to a trail blazed by similar app Badoo .

Founded in 2006 by Russian entrepreneur Andrey Andreev , Badoo now connects 153 million people around the world . It is hugely successful in Europe and is currently pushing into the United States .

Though it has a reputation as a dating site -- some news reports have described it as like Facebook , but for sex -- the motivation behind Badoo 's hook ups are numerous , according to Benjamin Ling , the company 's newly appointed chief operating officer .

`` We 're solving a fundamental need of humans to connect and meet with other people , '' Ling told CNN on the sidelines of Le Web .

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Whereas Highlight focuses on specifically locating and identifying strangers in close proximity , Badoo casts its net much wider , linking like-minded souls in nearby neighborhoods and leaving it up to them to set up a physical rendezvous .

Yet , said Ling , it recognizes that people are clearly willing to take a leap into the unknown .

`` As children , we have no problem meeting people , but as we grow up it becomes harder , '' he said . `` The social friction increases . What we do is help reduce that friction . ''

Badoo makes money as a `` freemium '' service . There is no charge to join , but users can pay to promote themselves across the network in the same way that retailers optimize their position in Google searches . Ling said further revenues could soon come from advertisements .

Badoo has already achieved the critical mass needed to make it a going concern and seems to have no problem persuading users to share personal details -- a fact that should be encouraging to Highlight and other , newer social startups . Like any dating or social site , however , it must combat users who post false identities .

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`` The key thing in gaining trust is user choice . Users only share the information they want to share , '' Ling said . `` As with every open platform , it is open to abuse . We have the ability for our community members to flag abuse , and we have 250 moderators . We allow users to authenticate their profiles , via Facebook or Twitter or their mobile phones . ''

And , said Ling , he is confident the space will grow as society opens up to the possibilities of sharing with strangers .

`` Teens growing up now are more comfortable with the online world , and so the cultural mores are beginning to change over time , and that makes us optimistic , '' he said . `` This model of interaction is going to be much more prevalent in the future . ''

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Mobile apps connecting strangers in real world might be `` the next Facebook ''

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Highlight connects mobile users within 150 meters based upon mutual friends or interests

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Badoo operates on same principle but covers more distance

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Some worry that GPS-aided introductions will seem creepy